President Obama signs defense bill despite 'reservations'

[ChadwickHenryWard]

16. Two problems:

Laws stay on the books until changed. Unless there's a sunset on that provision, any subsequent administration could easily use that power to detain Americans without trial. I don't think Obama even interprets the bill as giving him that power, and even though he says he'll never use it, I still don't think he should be granted it in the first place.

Secondly, it's equally wrong for the government to make a foreigner disappear forever without any kind of legal redress. Even if it's true that the bill only grants the power to detain foreigners without trial (a reading with which I disagree) it's still wrong.

If we can take Obama at his word that he won't use the power (I hope we can) this might still end up seeing the inside of a courtroom. It really would just have been better not to pass the law at all.